Queen announces North America ‘Rhapsody’ tour with Adam Lambert

Adam Lambert (left), with Queen guitarist Brian May in Houston in 2014, will join the group’s tour that follows the success of the biopic “Bohemian Rhapsody.” Photo: Karen Warren, Houston Chronicle 2014

Following the blockbuster success of the Freddie Mercury biopic “Bohemian Rhapsody,” the remaining members of Queen announced on Monday, Dec. 3, that they would return to the road with Adam Lambert on lead vocals for a six-week North America tour next year.

The 23-date “Rhapsody” arena tour kicks off in Vancouver, British Columbia, on July 10 and and runs through Aug. 23 in Charlotte, N.C., touching down at the SAP Center in San Jose on July 14.

General public tickets go on sale at 10 a.m. Friday, Dec. 7, via Live Nation. Queen and Adam Lambert Fan Club presales will run from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 6.

“This is a great opportunity,” Queen guitarist Brian May said in a statement. “Our last tour featured our most ambitious production ever, and got us our best notices ever. So we decided to rip it apart and get even more ambitious. Watch out, America!”

Lambert first shared the stage with Queen for the 2009 “American Idol” finale. He has regularly performed with the group’s remaining co-founders — May and drummer Roger Taylor — since then, including a tour in 2017 celebrating the 40th anniversary of its breakthrough album, 1977’s “News of the World,” which includes the hits “We Will Rock You” and “We Are the Champions.”

Completing the touring lineup of the band will be keyboardist Spike Edney, bassist Neil Fairclough and percussionist Tyler Warren.

The upcoming tour arrives on the heels of the box-office success of “Bohemian Rhapsody” — one of the highest-grossing music biopics of all time — starring Rami Malek as late frontman Mercury, Gwilym Lee as May, Ben Hardy as Taylor and Joseph Mazzello as former bassist John Deacon. The movie’s soundtrack, which spans Queen’s career, peaked at No. 3 on the Billboard 200 chart.